1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to probes and, more particularly, to a probe for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates internal images of a diagnosis object with ultrasound waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus refers to a non-invasive apparatus that emits an ultrasound signal from a surface of a patient body towards a target internal organ beneath the body surface and obtains an image of a monolayer or blood flow in soft tissue from information in the reflected ultrasound signal (ultrasound echo-signal). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been widely used for inspection of the heart, the abdomen, the urinary organs, and in obstetrics and gynecology due to various merits thereof such as small size, low price, real-time image display, and high stability through elimination of radiation exposure, as compared with other image diagnostic systems, such as X-ray diagnostic systems, computerized tomography scanners (CT scanners), magnetic resonance imagers (MRIs), nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatuses, and the like.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a probe which transmits an ultrasound signal to a diagnosis object and receives the ultrasound echo-signal reflected therefrom to obtain ultrasound images of the diagnosis object.
The probe includes a transducer, a case open at an upper end thereof, a cover coupled to the open upper end of the case to directly contact the surface of the diagnosis object, and the like.
The transducer includes a piezoelectric layer in which a piezoelectric material converts electrical signals into sound signals or vice versa while vibrating, a matching layer reducing a difference in sound impedance between the piezoelectric layer and a diagnosis object to allow as much of the ultrasound waves generated from the piezoelectric layer to be transferred to the diagnosis object as possible, a lens layer focusing the ultrasound waves, emitted from the piezoelectric layer, onto a predetermined point, and a backing layer preventing the ultrasound waves from traveling in a rearward direction of the piezoelectric layer to prevent image distortion.
The piezoelectric layer includes a piezoelectric member and electrodes provided to upper and lower ends of the piezoelectric member, respectively. Further, a printed circuit board (PCB) is bonded to the piezoelectric layer. The PCB is formed with wire electrodes connected to the electrodes of the piezoelectric layer to transfer a signal to the piezoelectric layer. The PCB is connected to the piezoelectric layer by connecting the wire electrodes of the PCB to the electrodes of the piezoelectric layer.
It should be noted that the above description is provided for understanding of the background art and is not a description of a well-known conventional technique to which the present disclosure pertains.
The probe for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus generally includes a planar piezoelectric layer and employs a curved lens. When manufacturing the probe for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the electrodes must be manually connected to the piezoelectric layer, thereby increasing manufacturing time and deteriorating performance of the probe due to low durability and non-uniformity at connected portions. Therefore, there is a need for an improved probe for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.